DraftKings Cuts Bettor's Wager to 49 Cents as Platforms Cap Winners, Reward Losers

A DraftKings betting ticket showed the company would accept only 49 cents as a maximum wager on an NBA Cup game, one example of sports betting platforms restricting the amount successful gamblers can bet. Michael Trevithick of Ann Arbor, Michigan, provided the ticket showing the limit.

Mike Manning, a professional bettor who uses mathematical models, said he signed up with every sports gambling app available when Massachusetts launched sports betting in 2023. Manning said he was winning on nearly every platform before the limits arrived. On DraftKings, he said, his per-bet limit was set to $25. On BetMGM, he said he began by betting $1,000 to $5,000 per game and was soon restricted to $5.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission required gambling companies in 2024 to answer questions and provide data on how they restrict bettors. An investigation by the Commission found that winning gamblers have their betting limits decreased while gamblers who lose have their limits increased. The Commission reported that 0.64% of Massachusetts betting accounts had been restricted.

A group of U.S. lawmakers wrote last week to major gambling platforms about the granting of perks to frequent losers. The letter said perks that include access to exclusive events, videos from celebrities and athletes, and tickets to the Super Bowl distract bettors from their financial losses and encourage betting when they otherwise would not. Big winners, by contrast, often see bets capped under $20 and sometimes under 50 cents, effectively cutting them off.

Brianne Doura-Schawohl, director for the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, said companies must ensure the house always wins. "I would argue it's not fair, and what makes it more unfair is all of the pervasive advertising tells us all that we can win," she said. Gadoon Kyrollos, a professional sports bettor whose bets are often limited, described the pattern as a "ban or bankrupt" model.

Massachusetts became the first state to require gambling companies to notify bettors who have been limited and to explain the reason. FanDuel wrote to Manning that he was restricted because of "an assessment of your overall wagering patterns and their impact on our long-term risk position.." DraftKings told Manning it acted "for internal risk management purposes." A DraftKings spokesperson said the company applies customer-specific wagering limits to less than 0.15% of accounts as an enterprise risk control, generally in response to activity that appears designed to exploit errors or target discrepancies in odds. The spokesperson said these decisions are based on customer behaviors, irrespective of whether a customer is winning or losing.

Matthew Litt, a New Jersey attorney who works on gambling cases, said the practice is legal as long as gambling companies do not discriminate against customers based on protected characteristics such as race or religion. BetMGM declined to comment.

Chris Swett, a former South Carolina attorney, pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud and four counts of money laundering in federal court. He said he stole about $2 million from his law firm to fund his gambling addiction, with every bit of it going into FanDuel. By 2019, Swett said he was wagering $5,000 to $10,000 a month. He said a FanDuel employee emailed him that anyone spending $25,000 a month was eligible to be paired with a VIP host, who would provide free tickets to sporting events and complimentary entries to fantasy contests if Swett wagered enough.

In a two-year span, Swett said he wagered $11 million and lost about $1 million on the site. An email from 2020 shows Swett writing to his VIP host, "I think I'm tapped out this month.." Two days later, the host offered him a 4% bonus on any new bets. Swett now faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison. "I take personal responsibility for everything I did, but it just seems like their system was designed to keep me playing," he said.

FanDuel said every customer has a suite of tools that support informed and controlled play, including deposit limits, timeouts, and the ability to self-exclude. The company said it has made changes to how it operates its VIP program since Swett's time, including additional training for employees and new technologies to identify and stop problem gambling. FanDuel said it is an entertainment company and not a tool for professional bettors to gain an edge or earn a living.